Tag Archives: 75th anniversary

The USS West Virginia and the USS Tennessee burn on Dec. 7, 1941, after Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor. | REUTERS/KYODO

Seventy five years ago today, the United States of America declared war on the Empire of Japan. America had what was widely recognized as a very good reason; the day before, Japanese forces bombed the air base at Pearl Harbor in the then territory of Hawaii.

That’s the last time America had a clear and present danger to itself as justification for declaring war. So why has America gone to war several times since?

The Korean War of 1950-1953 was a colossal failure. The United States got involved in an internal conflict when North Korea invaded South Korea. North Korea today is widely accused of having one of the worst human rights records in the world.

The Vietnam War of 1959-75 was between North and South Vietnam. Again, there was no “clear and present danger” to the United States.

In the 21st century, it could be argued that the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 was an act of war; the headline on some newspapers named it so. But the War in Afghanistan didn’t begin because of an attack by that nation, but by a group of al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters. America didn’t declare war on Texas because of the Fort Hood shooting of 2009, or on the University of Massachusetts because of student participation in the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013.

The Iraq War began with the United States leading a “preemptive strike” (unprovoked attack) on the nation of Iraq in 2003. This was because the nation supposedly might pose a threat to the United States at some future point in time if certain things happened.

So why has America gone to war so many times in the last 75 years? I consulted with a friend who’s an expert on American military conflicts. I asked how many wars had America declared in the last 75 years that proponents didn’t believe would benefit American corporations? Without hesitation, he answered, “none.”

An opinion of an individual member of The Loveshade Family does not necessarily reflect the views of the entire family.